Bars where Pete has had a Drink (3,476 bars; 1,545 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:

Bars where Pete has had a drink

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sometimes this project is serendipitously thematic, and such was the case tonight, as I departed the bad art auction at Tether Design and the company of intrepid subculture explorers and bad art connoisseurs Jo and Marlowe to grab a nightcap at Fuel, a sports bar that is utterly generic with the exception of a series of impossibly bad portraits of the characters in "Caddyshack."

However, it subsequent visits, Fuel has grown on me a bit. It has hosted some outlandish events (e.g. "Hot For Teacher Night" with Mary K. Letourneau and her DJ husband (and erstwhile student Vili Fualaau).

Mary K. Letourneau, "Hot For Teacher Night", Fuel, Seattle

Also, if you want a rollicking place to watch Seahawks games and other Seattle sporting events, Fuel is one of the best bar scenes in the area.

Historical notes: I have not yet found any bars in this location after prohibition until Fuel opened here in 2006 (before Fuel it hosted a tile shop and an Italian restaurant). However, going further back it is associated with a rich part of Seattle bar history. The building was constructed for Captain James Nugent and John Considine in 1890 (seattle.gov), right after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Nugent leased the Fuel portion from 1890 to 1904, and for at least a portion of that ran the Coocoo Saloon there. A saloon of unknown name was there in 1905 run by Rees Heycock. For a description of the more notorious eastern portion of the building, see my entry on the Double Header.

For hard-scrabble, roily bars in Seattle it's hard to beat south Pioneer Square and the International District, and perhaps the hard-scrabbliest, roiliest one of them all is Joe's Bar and Grill (Happy Hour 7am to noon). You will not find this place filled with hipsters. If your idea of a great dive bar is one filled with grizzled regulars, working men and non-working menm who've led hard lives, this is probably the best dive in Seattle.

Joe's Bar and Grill, Seattle, WA

Historical notes: There have been bars located at this address since at least 1898, and by 1915 it was the Nebraska Music Hall. The first bar I've found located in the current building, constructed in 1926, is one owned by Mrs. Ko Nishiyama in 1939. By 1948 it was the Combination Tavern, and in the 50s and 60s it was the Red Front Tavern (which later moved one block north to Jackson). It is also listed as Johnson Corner Tavern in the 60s, and eventually (?) Joe's Bar and Grill. (This space may have been split for a while, as the corner location is listed under 500 1/2 in earlier years.)

Update: Now that I know that Amber from Go Like Hell, touring with the Genitorturers, etc. etc. works there (and easily clinches the most sexy bartender title), I have to boost this over the Rickshaw for top Seattle karaoke dive and to my highly recommended list.

Historical Notes: The "Arterial Tavern" begins appearing in city guides at this address in 1939 and it is listed as the "Crescent Tavern" in the 1948. It is said to have been an old carriage house, although the current building wasn't constructed until 1924. It was a lesbian bar by the early 70s and now caters to older gay men, with a broad mix for karaoke.

Ostensibly gay, but it looks like it was decorated by the Rodney Dangerfield character in "Caddyshack."

Historical Notes: The Elite Tavern was established by 1935 (perhaps earlier) at 622 Broadway, currently the location of Poppy. It remained there until Jan 31, 2007, when it closed and re-opened in Dec 2007 at 1520 E Olive Way. It eventually (1950s?) became a gay bar -- the first one on Capitol Hill. On July 22, 1993 it was bombed by neo-Nazis, but suffered very limited damage with no one hurt.

Man, I had no idea a bar like this was hidden away on Capitol Hill. And while it has only been there a couple years, it feels like it's been around for 50. An excellent option for people who want a more relaxed and unpretentious watering hole, as if it were in the hills around some small college town.

Some very fine additions over the past year or so make this stretch of Olive Way one of my favorite bar areas in the city. The Buck is cozy, western-themed bar by the owners of Bleu Bistro, with a mixed gay and straight crowd. I didn't get much of a feel for the vibe of the patrons, as I went on a Monday evening, but Janine the bartender is quite cool and the decor is swell (even if they really need to start giving some serious thought to taking down the Christmas tree).

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I love the Pub at Third Place. I love all the wood, the good beers, the Greek restaurant and bookstore open late upstairs. But what I liked most was the customers and vibe. Late 20s and 30s, on laptops, reading books, playing cards, relaxed but with a good energy. A hidden gem and one of my new favorite places. (web site)

This is a very large sports bar, which means it's fairly impossible to have any of the charm I generally look for in a bar. But as large sports bars go, it was very comfortable and unassuming, and I liked the couches, picnic tables, and plywood, and it seems to fit well in the Ladd's Addition neighborhood.(web site)

New (about 10 months) bump and grind, thumping music, spray-on-tan club in the Old Town area. Not my type of place, but if you're going to have a club like that, why not outfit it with stripper poles and a swing over the bar?(NapkinNights pics from the night I was there)